The Camp System

The purpose of the the next lessons in the course is to allow students to explore the system of camps that existed wtihin Nazi-occupied Europe. Students are exposed to a variety of methods including testimony, primary source documents, lecture and flim to explore this topic. The development of this lesson was influenced by travels abroad with the Holocaust and Jewish Resistance Teacher's Program and West Chester University, as well as materials from USHMM, Echoes and Reflections and the film, Misa's Fugue. The lessons are designed for an 86-minute block schedule. Materials listed are only those materials I am sharing below, not all of the nuts and bolts (computer, projectors etc.) necessary to make the lesson work.

LESSONS TWENTY-NINE THROUGH THIRTY-ONE: THE CAMP SYSTEM

Core Lesson Concept: The lesson begins with students analyzing an artifact which may or may not be affected by previously held conceptions. It then evolves into a teacher-led lecture/discussion about the different types of camps within the Nazi system that incorporates testimony from USHMM. Students then discuss differing perspectives on the implementation of the Final Solution viewing an excerpt from the Gerstein Report and a segment of an interview with Franz Stangl (from Echoes and Reflections). That night, for homework, students read an excerpt from Elie Wiesel's "Night" and respond to several analysis questions. The second day of class begins with the reading and discussion of an excerpt from "Man's Search for Meaning" by Viktor Frankl and then segways into a virtual fieldtrip to Auschwitz-Birkenau. Students then finish out this portion of the course by viewing the film "Misa's Fugue."

Materials:

Lesson Plan

Misa's Fugue DVD

Misa’s Fugue Reflection Sheet (Key in Misa's Fugue Educator's Guide)

Power Point

Camp Uniform Artifact Analysis Activity (E-Mail for Info)

Student Note Sheet

Excerpts from the Gerstein Report

Excerpt from Man's Search for Meaning (E & R)

Night Excerpt (E & R) & Night Assignment

Franz Stangl Interview

Student Journals

Link for the Virtual Fieldtrip

Additional Materials:

Arrival in Auschwitz iWitness Activity

Suggested Supplemental Reading for Teachers:

Inside the Gas Chambers: Eight Months in the Gas Chambers in Auschwitz by Shlomo Venezia

Survival in Auschwitz by Primo Levi

The Wannsee Conference and the Final Solution: A Reconsideration by Mark Roseman